The Power of the Blog

MTAS is a government computer project that, as usual, has gone horribly wrong. MTAS has been used to centralize and streamline the way doctors apply for their jobs. The result is the creation of some kind of lunatic, with doctors having to re-apply for the jobs they had found quite nicely under the 'read a job advert - send in a CV - get an interview' method.

Channel 4 revealed this week that the computer system was wide open to the public with details such as names, addresses and sexual orientation of doctors on display. Not only is this dangerous, it is totally illegal, and raises serious questions about the other New Labour IT disasters that just seem to be mounting up.

The MTAS website is now 'closed for essential maintenance' - that's convenient!

Is it anything to do with Dr Crippen, a widely read GP-blogger:

It is, I suppose some sort of journalistic coup that, shortly after Dr
Crippen phoned Mike Clement, the MTAS Project Manager at the DoH, the decision
was taken to close down the MTAS site.

There was no alternative.

'Today's news, revealed in NHS BLOG DOCTOR, that it was possible for doctors to access each other's applications and personal information by simply inputting a random number was a gross breach of data security. The MTAS site had to be closed to protect that information, to protect the doctors.A lesser concern, but still an
important one, is that this breach of data security may result in a criminal
prosecution against the MTAS administrators.

Maybe even against the blessed Patricia herself.

And now a trivial matter. Or a matter that seems consistently
to be treated as trivial by the department. What happens to the doctors? MTAS,
for all its failings, is their source of information about forthcoming
interviews and appointments. There is nowhere else for them to turn.'

Out of Hours - OOH

The penny pinching and stealthy privatisation of critical health services continues with the Cornwall 'OOH' or Out of Hours GP contract being awarded to Serco in 2005. It's all going horribly wrong.

Patsy Hewitt was surprisingly honest, recently describing the Serco operation as 'very poor'.

For ten years, the people of Cornwall would reach an employee of 'KernowDoc' when seeking urgent medical care out of normal office hours. Kernowdoc lost this contract to 'Serco', a company that was considerably cheaper.

I believe you get what you pay for, but the 'PCT' or local Primary Care Trust, when deciding how to spend the cash, didn't think urgent medical care was worth the expense.

This from a BBC report in 2005:

KernowDoc executive director Phil Trevail said he was extremely disappointed by
the decision and hoped that the new company would be able to provide the same
level of service his company had for the past ten years. "Unfortunately
they came in cheaper than us," said Dr Trevail. "Serco have a big
infrastructure and are able to do the job cheaper than we are able to. We feel
we produced a realistic price to give a safe, responsive service. "We feel
very disappointed. We feel we have given a quality service over the past ten
years but we are glad Serco have said they will take on our staff.

Serco is a huge, faceless international company that aims to fill in the gaps left by the relentless withdrawal of the state from the public sector. Kernowdoc aimed to provide out of hours GP services to the local community and concentrated on those aims.

Write to Ann James, Chief Executive Cornwall PCT, The Sedgemoor Centre, Priory Road, St Austell, Cornwall, PL25 5AS and let her know what you think about the decision to farm off vital GP services to the cheapest bidder.

Bernard Matthews Compensation

I, like many MPs that were uncomfortable with the bootiful Bernard Matthews payout this week, couldn't help thinking back to the summer of slaughter during Foot and Mouth. It was also 'uncomfortable' to see the apparent glee with which MAFF (now DEFRA of course) set about slaughtering millions of livestock using dodgy science. This sort of thing has typified the Blair era, although that's another story.

Not Foot and Mouth, but equally ridiculous was the story of David Dobbin, as told by Chris Booker in the Sunday Telegraph recently. This poor chap lost £500,000 worth of livestock, his entire herd I believe, with not a sniff of compensation.

Bernard got £600,000. All this while he is allegedly under investigation for breaches of bio-security!

1st Annual WesternBlog MP Awards

It is with great anticipation that I open the nominations for the WesternBlog MP awards 2007.


The award will go to one of our regional MPs (in Devon or Cornwall) that readers think spends the least amount of time actually in the West Country.


Yes folks, the worst 'absentee MP in the region' is to be honoured for disservices to the community.


Send in your nominations now!

devondigger@hotmail.co.uk or comments under this post.

Westcountry Politics on the Web

It's surprisingly hard to find any decent output from local politicians or bloggers in the region, but it's not for a lack of material!

Here's a list of websites and blogs that are flying the flag for the Westcountry online political community. Together, and with our help, we can build up a thriving community of bloggers and activists that can knock some of these crusty, dusty or just plain lazy MPs and councillors from their well worn comfy armchairs.

In no particular order!

- Peoples' Republic of South Devon - a community based blog with big plans..
"With the conurbation that is South Devon set to become a megalopolis in the next 20 years (well over half a million new homes are to be built in the South West), it’s reassuring to find a new report claiming that the region could become a world leader in providing zero carbon housing."

www.peoplesrepublicofsouthdevon.co.uk


- Stand up for Seaton - A campaign blog, they are currently supporting local people standing as independant councillors in disgust at dodgy redevelopment deals that threaten to vandalise the local landscape - great stuff!

http://standup4seaton.blogspot.com/

- Devonport Column - A highly promising site that seems to have many birdies in hard to reach places.

http://devonportcolumn.org.uk/

- Cornish Forum - Busy forum that gives an insight into what goes on in the minds of our Cornish friends. "What is Cornishness? Who is real Cornish? How many Cornish are there? If a cat is born half in Cornwall and half in England then blah blah blah (sic) ?"

http://www.cornwall24.co.uk/module-pnForum.htm

Last and probably least,

- Cheddar Vision - Watching a Westcountry cheddar age in front of your eyes. The cheese has over 500 friends on MySpace. Poor Menzies Campbell, Liberal Democrat leader, has only 48. Not such a big cheese after all. Sorry, couldn't resist.
http://www.cheddarvision.tv/



I've surely missed some important sites out, and I'll make it my mission to find them over the next few weeks.

email any suggestions to westernblog@hotmail.co.uk

The End of Union

What is the current Tory policy on devolution, and importantly for us, regional government? We are witnessing in Scotland the end-game for the Union as we know it. The Scottish Nationalists (SNP) are taking full advantage of Labour incompetence in Scotland, cementing the process that Brown and Blair started back in 1997.

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Their opportunistic policy of Scottish devolution has come back to haunt them. The elephant in the room - English devolution.

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Scottish MPs can vote on english matters in Parliament, but English MPs are naturally barred from the Scottish and Welsh executives. English support for a devoloved parliament of their own appears strong, according to an Ipsos MORI poll commissioned by 'The English Consitutional Convention'. 41% polled supported an English parliament. The Scottish vote that led to the creation of the Scottish parliament carried with only 44% in favour.

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Local Tories have traditionally voted against independant government for the South West, deafeating Liberal MPs in the recent Cornish devolution battle. But the issue of English devolution is quickly overtaking sluggish Tory policy. I can only see a fudged compromise, excluding Scottish MPs from voting on English issues at Westminster, saving the Conservatives from the irony of a campaign to end the present Union themselves.

Linda's Proudest Moment

Professor Ray Jones, Associate Dean for Research in the University of Plymouth’s Faculty of Health and Social Work, recently described the rapidly ageing elderly population of the South West. More old people equals more illness, and more need for healthcare.

Linda Gilroy MP referred to these issues in 2004 when explaining the need for a medical school in Plymouth, 'We knew that we were under-doctored when we argued for the peninsula medical school, because, per thousand young people, there were not enough to come forward as doctors'.

Linda says her proudest moment as an MP was 'seeing the first student attend the new Peninsula Medical School for Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall.'

The reality of New Labour health policy has been a disaster, with stringent cost cutting measures employed in local hospitals. However, there has been no expense spared on financing the private ISTCs (Independant Sector Treatment Centres) that you see springing up outside the major Trusts. http://www.peninsulatreatmentcentre.nhs.uk/site/1/Home.html

Now the government has unveiled it's master plan 'Modernising Medical Careers' with 32,000 doctors applying for 18,000 training posts. Will Linda take the lead in calling for the Peninsula Medical School to stop admitting medical students, training them at £250,000 a pop only to fail to obtain a government funded training post?

Maybe then we could save several million quid and stop wasting the time of our talented young people.




Perhaps Linda will explain to prospective Peninsula Medical School students why this quiet Paediatrician of 33 years experience is marching in protest at her precious New Labour's policy on medical recruitment and training?

Dear Linda

Linda Gilroy MP has an impressive voting record, with 99.6% of her votes 'on message'. Indeed, the last time Linda deigned to write a question about Plymouth was 2005, a stocking filler one sentence long. She is strongly pro-war and pro-ID cards as you might expect from a dedicated New Labour yes-woman.

And after 10 years of failing to represent the people of Plymouth in favour of pleasing Tony, you would expect at least a post in junior government as reward. The answer is no, not a sniff. Linda, I would sympathise if it wasn't pathetic.

How depressing to see one of the few parliamentary labour party members in the region with the power to represent local people proving so gutless.

Come on Linda, Blair's finished and Britain is embroiled in his stupid war. Start fighting for your constituents, you've never been much of a Westminster high flyer. It's not like Plymouth doesn't have several pressing issues that need your urgent attention.

Second Home Owners

Echoing a nationwide phenomenon, young people and families are finding it increasingly hard to get on the property ladder and remain in their local communities.

The question is what came first? Second home owners or empty 'ghost villages'. See - www.second-homes.org. These chaps think second home owners are keeping villages alive by ensuring homes in the region are well maintained and not left to rot, empty of inhabitants. Villages that were once primarily fishing based communities are now tourist based.

Tell that to thousands of families in the region that are forced to move on due to soaring prices.

And what about business? Well that depends on how you see the Devon and Cornwall of the future. Second home owners are great for the tourist industry, with it's obvious drawbacks. But is tourism all that the region is about?

More work must be done to create a dialogue between second home owners and local people. Maybe a little mutual understanding could go a long way.

Janners

Janners. The term refers to people 'born within 10 miles of the sea', a definition that strikes me as being bizarrely accurate.

I was chatting to a local Plymouth chap recently, and upon proudly announcing his Plymouth ancestory, I said, 'O, so you're a Janner then?'.

The Digger has only lived in the area for little over a year, so was genuinely surprised to hear him threaten to start throwing things at me. He failed to specify the type of objects he planned to chuck, but I played it safe and apologised for any offence caused. I did however manage to find out what it was that bothered him about a term that I had heard several local Plymothians use to describe themselves with pride.

Seems that the term has been appropriated by students, the middle class and other non-janner groups, and is used as an insult. The 'Chav' phenomenon, a particularly unattractive quality in many fellow Brits that can only be described as hating the poor.

The Digger says stuff em.

Keep it green you crazy Janners!

Rush Hour in Devon

The south west is getting busier - more traffic, more tourists and more residents as people flock to the region in droves.

We come second on the list in the UK when it comes to expenditure on cars and bus passenger numbers continue to fall, although bus availablity has gone up. This is only going to get worse with time, and sustainable transport policy will become critical to maintaining the great quality of life on offer in the region.

'Westden' is working to achieve sustainable rural communities in Devon and beyond. They are currently developing a 'sustainable village' project at Belstone, a small village between Tavistock and Okehampton. Westden also loan scooters to young folk so they can get to work amongst other useful things.

You can join courses in a wide range of traditional and modern 'rural skills', so visit them at www.westden.co.uk and support sustainable living and commerce in Devon.

Further courses in the traditional arts of 'Hedge Steeping' and 'Stone Facing' can be found at - www.devonruralskillstrust.co.uk, but don't ask the Digger what these activites entail.